A celebration of time and friendship

Have you ever wondered who started the birthday party tradition or even why we do it?

Certainly, some people of particular faith do not indulge in such festivities and others use the occasion as a reason to party to excess. Sometimes, it seems people try to outdo each other with extravagant gifts and often over indulge children who are already well and truly bordering on the spoilt spectrum. For the most part however, we use the occasion to celebrate the person and acknowledge the positive effect they have on the lives around them.

Ancient history reveals that the exact origin of birthdays and birthday cakes remains inconclusive. In ancient Egypt the earliest known mention of a birthday celebration is around 3,000 BCE. The Greeks are also noted to have offered moon shaped cakes as a form of tribute to the lunar goddess, to recreate the radiance of the moon and her perceived beauty, they used candles and put them on cakes for a glowing effect. It is thought that the Greeks most likely took the idea of birthday celebration from the Egyptians, since just like the celebration of the pharaohs as "gods," the Greeks were celebrating their gods and goddesses.

It appears the ancient Romans were the first to celebrate birthdays for the common man but only the men! Female birthdays weren’t celebrated until around the 12th Century. Christians initially considered birthdays to be a pagan ritual and as such did not participate until the birth of Christ.

Contemporary birthday cakes were invented by German bakers around the late 18th Century and the industrial revolution brought delicious cakes to the masses.

The blowing out of candles is steeped in the pagan belief that evil spirits were present and blowing out the candles would ward them off for another year.

This year, for us at Rivergum, we have celebrated numerous birthdays, the most significant being the milestone of Daryl turning 50. We used this occasion to gather many friends and family to our home and mark the occasion with a number of parties – three in fact. Initially, Daryl was reluctant to have a party; he ummed and aahhed and couldn’t make a decision, so we stopped talking about it and I decided, with the help of some co-conspirators, to organise three ‘surprise events’. Although, I have no doubt he was getting rather suspicious by the end, I suspect he enjoyed the veil of secrecy. 

To overcome the challenge of having too many people in one location and not having the time to spend with everyone, I chose to invite a select few of Daryl’s closer friends to a small dinner at one his favourite eateries. Small, cosy, with delicious food, the company was easy and wine was flowing.

Cake number one was produced and the antique clock symbolized one of his favourite hobbies, while the subtlety of time passing by, not being missed by any of us. 

Event number two saw us travelling to the coastline and meeting our brood of children and grandchildren for a brunch by the beach. Another of Daryl’s favourite activities. This time a steam train was the cake of the day and again represented a favoured pastime of the birthday boy.

 Opportunity to play on the sand, chase the waves and search for shells in the company of our family have become treasured moments in a vast array of memories. 

With sand still in our toes, and the taste of salt strong on our lips we made our way back to the farm. Event number three was set to begin. 

The final party, a gathering of many friends, family and neighbours joined together to raise a glass, have a chat and acknowledge the contribution Daryl has made to everyone there, in one way, shape or form. The final cake, a tribute in chocolate shrouded with candles seemed a fitting end for a fiftieth birthday. After the speeches were made, and the crowds went home, it was nice to reflect on the lovely cards and messages Daryl received to mark this occasion, lots of humour about being over the hill, wrinkles and walking frames, then a few sentimental ones along with the main attraction, a pictorial book depicting Daryl’s 50 years. One hundred and sixty pages of photos and words, memories of a lifetime that cannot be replaced. Impossible to capture every moment, it really is still only a snapshot. Daryl’s 50th will continue later next month with a trip to Sydney and the opportunity to walk the Sydney Harbour Bridge, again something Daryl has always wanted to do.

For us, birthdays have always been a time to stop and celebrate. When my children were growing up we started the day with a birthday breakfast of pancakes and ice-cream with some kind of syrupy sauce to set them on their way to school. It was a wonderful tradition, although I suspect their teachers may not have thought so. More recently, we were part of the GUR group (Grown Up Retreat) a group friends who would plan to go away every couple of months, without children, and kick back and relax. Over time, people’s priorities change and the group has ceased going away together. However, two couples Daryl and I and Carol and Zac continue to celebrate birthdays in style. This past 12 months, we agreed to challenge ourselves by planning the birthday recipient’s birthday weekend without any input from them. In theory it was a test to see how well the other three parties knew them.   Easy? No! Fun? Yes! 

And we completed the fourth birthday only a few weeks ago. We started early in 2018, Daryl’s birthday being in January, he was first to enjoy a jammed packed overnight trip to Melbourne taking in the Souvlaki hut, go karts and food markets and fabulous fare along the way. Following on from a fast-paced weekend we slowed it down and booked ourselves in for some soothing sea air, in a quaint beachside hideaway. Decadently decked out with a pool table, fireplace and long lounges we enjoyed the serenity of the seaside as we celebrated Zac’s birthday. My weekend was delayed until later in the year, passed the spring date it was, as they worked to secure a special dinner booking. It was indeed a fabulous treat. Gourmet entrees and wine on the old refurbished steam train, followed by dinner and dancing in the spruced-up woolshed. A spot of shopping, meandering the quaint streets of the Dandenongs finished off the celebrations. One of the many challenges of planning weekends away is finding common time when everyone is available. Hence Carol’s birthday, fell into the new year, three months after the actual event. She didn’t seem to mind. Carol’s celebrations took us to the Yarra

Valley and we enjoyed the delights it had to offer. Breakfast at the Chocolate Factory, followed by shopping in the township of Healesville. Several tastings at the gin distillery and then several wineries, cheese platters and tempting treats at various eclectic provedores along the way, kept us all full and very merry. The weekend was capped off with high tea at Chateau Yering, an elegant old-style homestead that maintains most of the charms from yesteryear. Originally a home designed for entertaining it is steeped in tradition and a pleasure to indulge in, if in the area.

Carol’s weekend ended another series of wonderful trips. We will not be doing the birthday weekends this year. We are now focusing on the big 5.0. Daryl kicks this off in April and over the next three years we will all, we hope reach this milestone. The celebrations will not be secretive, but they will no doubt be a little indulgent and aimed at spoiling the birthday recipient in style.

Wishing you all some serious celebrations when your day arrives, no matter how big or small.


Until next time,

N

Drought drain

Summer has morphed into Autumn but the temperatures would indicate otherwise. As I type this, the Vic Emergency app alerts are active – three significant fires are currently burning, putting people, their homes and livestock at great risk. This heatwave is rocking southeast Victoria and I doubt anyone is celebrating the blazing sun that continues to crisp the ravaged ground we walk on. A few weeks ago, we enjoyed a brief reprieve with 30 mm of rain and in a few days, we saw growth in the paddocks. Sporadic and scattered across the land it was a hopeful sign. We moved the remaining cows onto high ground and watched them ravish the fresh growth. It sustained them for a day or two but we have now returned them to the morass, supplementing the little feed available with hay. Anything that was trying to grow is now burnt again with temperatures in the high 30s making it impossible. The vegetable gardens and house lawn are green and while not thriving it’s certainly surviving, thanks to daily watering. The bees have had shade cloth put over their hives to help them during the rough days, but really it isn’t enough. I think without the green in the backyard it would be most depressing to look out the window. Walking though the paddocks is one way to deflate your spirits. The ground is cracking and I wonder when the rain will arrive. There has been much conversation in the media regarding government assistance for farmers and for the most part their efforts are a slap in the face, indicating their total disrespect for the industry and understanding of the job farmers do and the emotional, financial and physical investment each one makes to continue day in, day out. The debt that accumulates has the potential to drive the strongest person to consider extreme measures. This is not acceptable. The ramifications of not supporting our farmers is lost on the general population and I am saddened to consider a future where we import all our produce because we didn’t act smarter when we had the chance.

For now, Daryl and I continue to maintain our property with the limited resources we have left. We have downsized as much as possible without removing our future possibilities and decided to bring in a bull for the remaining 18 breeders. They should calve towards the end of this year and we hope decent Autumn, Winter and Spring rain will rejuvenate the ground before little hooves hit the ground. Even our hens have had enough of the heat and we barely get a dozen eggs from our flock of chooks. Once this lot of feed runs out, the girls will be relocated to other homes and we will consider if we replace them down the track. If we do, some improvements to the pen will need to be made allowing for greater efficiency and less time commitment. 

Flipping the page, it is fortunate that nothing is growing and we have reduced the animal stock-take as I don’t seem to be able to get myself back to good health. After another two weeks off work, due to illness, I am struggling to get back on track. I am booked in for further surgery on my hip in a few weeks and again will be out of action for another two weeks. Frustrated? Yes. 

Until next time,

N